RATINGS & REVIEWS

A Long walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

11+age group

4/5rating

A long Walk to Water is a short novel written by Linda Sue Park. Park is a writer of teen fiction novels and won the prestigious Newberry Medal for her novel ‘A Single Shard’ in 2002. She has also written a book in the popular ‘39 clues’ series.

Premise: The book narrates two stories. One is about a 11 year old’s journey about surviving the civil war of Sudan and the other is about a 11 year old’s life after the civil war. Salva’s story is based on the real life story of Salva Dut. Forced out of his house during the civil war and fleeing to Ethiopia he faces a lot of hardships as part of the refugee exodus. As he flees from one refugee camp to another, he is witness to a number of his loved ones dying due to the harsh realities of war ravaged Sudan. The second story is that of Nya, who in 2008 had to walk 8 hours every day just to get water for her family from a dirty pond in post war Sudan.

This book combines fiction with real life stories to produce a gripping tale that exposes our children to a world that they cannot even begin to imagine. The book has some violence as it portrays the ravages of civil war and the gruesome stories of survival.

ZenParent Says- This book is recommended for Ages 11 and up. Salva Dut in real life, created the program called “Water for Sudan” which is about digging wells in South Sudan so that children can go to school instead of trudging long hours just to get water for their families. This book which has been on the New York Best seller list for 61 weeks is an educating and fascinating read for your middle grader.